mybudgetpal FAQs

I’ve linked my bank accounts. How long does it take for my transaction history to appear?

Once you’ve synced your bank accounts, transactional data for the last 90 days will be pulled through and should appear in a few minutes. If it doesn’t, check back in 24hrs and it should be ready to go.

Do I need to sync all my bank accounts?

It’s up to you, but we recommend syncing all your main, active bank accounts. That way you’ll get the most comprehensive overview of your finances – which will help you build your budget. This can include any joint accounts you have.

I’m having trouble syncing my bank accounts. Can I still set up mybudgetpal?

If you’re unable to sync your bank accounts, you can manually add bank accounts and/or transactions to set up mybudgetpal. You can do this by uploading a .csv file.

Manually linked accounts or statements will not be automatically updated so you’ll need to regularly upload your transaction data to keep your budget up to date.

Can I include my partner’s banking data in mybudgetpal even if they’re not with Booster?

Yes. If you have a joint bank account with your partner, you can sync it in mybudgetpal.

How often are my transactions updated from my synced bank accounts?

Every 24 hrs. We get your transactional data from your bank via Yodlee. In general, Yodlee gets updates every few hours and we get a download once a day. This means your transactional data is refreshed in mybudgetpal every 24 hours.

I’ve manually added my bank account. How do I update my budget?

If you have manually uploaded your statements, you’ll need to regularly upload your most recent transaction data to keep your budget accurate. You can do this by uploading a .csv file.

Do all banks have the same processing times and performance?

No. We get info from your bank via Yodlee each day. Generally, you should see your transactions within 24 hours. If you’re expecting to see a particular transaction that hasn’t come through yet, check back in later. The banks with the most reliable connectivity are BNZ, ANZ, Westpac, and Kiwibank.

I’m having trouble syncing my bank accounts. Can I still set up mybudgetpal?

If you’re unable to sync your bank accounts, you can manually add bank accounts and/or transactions to set up mybudgetpal.

Manually linked accounts or statements will not be automatically updated so you’ll need to regularly upload your transaction data to keep your budget up to date. You can do this by uploading a .csv file.

To manually add a bank account

Locate ‘Other‘ in the bottom row of the list of banks presented. From here you can add a bank account and balance which you can keep manually updated, in line with your chosen budget frequency.

To manually add a single transaction

You can manually add a single transaction if your bank account is automatically synced or if you added it manually.

Select 'View all' from the Transactions tab on the dashboard. Then click 'Add'. From here you can manually add in single transactions.

To manually add multiple transactions

You can manually add multiple transactions to a manually added bank account by uploading a .csv file. You can't upload a .csv file of multiple transactions to a synced bank account.

Select 'View all' from the Transactions tab on the dashboard. Then click 'Add'. From here you can upload a .csv file of transactions.

Uploading a .csv file

When you upload a .csv file, make ensure you format as follows:

• The header row with 'date', 'amount' etc. must be the top row of the spreadsheet. There can't be any other rows above the top row.
• All blank columns have been deleted from the file before uploading i.e. any blank rows or rows where the number value is "0" will need to be deleted.
• Dates need to be formatted like this: DD/MM/YYYY - NOT like this: DDMMYYYY

Are ALL transactions shown and how quickly do they appear in mybudgetpal?

Yes, all transactions are shown and data is refreshed every 24 hrs. mybudgetpal isn’t designed to be an exact replica of your online bank account, so it doesn’t show real-time data. However, we receive updated transactional data for your synced accounts from Yodlee once a day, so the data displayed on mybudgetpal is refreshed daily.

What’s a transfer?

Transfers are movements of cash from one of your accounts to another. e.g. you take money from your regular account to pay your credit card.

Why would I need to add a transaction?

There may be times when Yodlee has not been able to access all your transactional data. Other reasons may be that you’ve received cash for something – e.g. a Trade Me sale or birthday money and you’ve put it straight into your wallet but still want to count it as income.

What’s an uncategorised transaction?

An uncategorised transaction means that it has not been auto-assigned to a category.

You’ll need to assign a category so it can be counted as part of your budget.

To do this, click on any uncategorized transaction and you’ll be able to assign a category from the pop up that will appear.

How do I change transaction categories?

To change how a transaction has been auto-categorised e.g. a purchase from McDonald’s was categorised as ‘Groceries’ instead of 'Restaurants/Takeaways’, simply click the transaction and change the category using the ‘Edit transaction’ pop up. If you want future transactions with that same description to always be reassigned to the alternative category, you can set up a rule.

To search or edit multiple transactions at once you can use the Transactions page. Check the box on the left-hand side of the transaction/s you want to re-categorise and click ‘Edit’. You’ll be presented with a pop up that allows you to make your changes.

NB: If you select multiple transactions for editing at the same time, the change will be applied to each one. If you don’t want this, edit one transaction at a time.

How do I create a transaction tag?

Add a tag to a transaction so you sub-categorise your spending, and personalise your budget further.

For example, you buy a sandwich from Pak n Save for lunch. The transaction has been auto-categorised as ‘Groceries’; you want to identify it as ‘Lunch’.
On another day, you buy new socks for your child at Farmers. It was auto-categorised as ‘Personal/Family’; you’d like to identify it as ‘kids clothing’.

To do this, you need to add a tag to each transaction. Go to the Transactions tab on the main budgeting dashboard. Click the transaction e.g. Pak n Save $10.15 or Farmers $12.99. A pop up will appear that allows you add a tag to sub-categorise your transaction. You can also add tags to transactions listed on the Reports page.

How do I create a report?

The Reports page can be accessed from the Spending and Transactions tabs.

Reports allow you to bundle categories and/or tags together so you can get a birds-eye view of your spending across categories and tags you’ve chosen.

For example, you may want to track how much you’re spending on lunch.

To do this, first tag any transactions that you want to identify as ‘lunch’ (see ‘how do I create a transaction tag?’). Then you can create a report that picks up all transactions that have been tagged as ‘lunch’ – even if they’re across different categories.

Then, select the tag ‘lunch’ from the ‘Select categories and/or tags’ drop-down list on the reports page, and it will populate the graph area below the search fields.

Can I delete my budgeting data?

You can delete your mybudgetpal data by deleting your mybudgetpal account. You cannot delete your data independently of your account. Please see below for how to delete your mybudgetpal account.

How do I delete my mybudgetpal account?

Non-Booster members:

You have been set up with a mybooster account which gives you access to mybudgetpal. When you delete mybudgetpal, you’ll also delete your mybooster account.

To delete your mybudgetpal account, click Delete data on the top right-hand corner of the screen. You’ll then be presented with a pop-up to confirm that you want to delete your mybudgetpal account. Once confirmed, you’ll receive an email to notify you that both your mybooster account and mybudgetpal account and data will be deleted within 48hrs.

If you change your mind and want to re-register for a mybooster and mybudgetpal account after they’ve been deleted, you’ll need to contact us.

Booster members:

If you want to stop using mybudgetpal, click Delete data on the top right-hand corner of the screen. You’ll then be presented with a pop-up to confirm that you want to do this. Once confirmed, you’ll receive an email to notify you that your mybudgetpal account and data will be deleted within 48hrs.

You can choose to keep your bank account/s linked (via the pop up) if they form part of your total wealth picture on mybooster.

Any other Booster accounts you have will not be affected if you delete mybudgetpal – you will still be able to access them in mybooster. You can reinstate mybudgetpal via mybooster at any time.

How is my data stored?

The transactional banking data that mybudgetpal uses is stored in a purpose-built database that is separate from Booster's other systems and contains no personally identifiable information.

The only people with access to this database are the Booster infrastructure team. They don't query or export data from this database – they simply make sure that the service is online and performing as required.

At all stages, the data is transferred over an HTTPS secured connection.

Is it safe to enter my bank account details?

The bank account function is from Yodlee, which provides this service globally.

Over 1300 providers around the world use Yodlee to deliver their services, including 16 of the top 20 US banks. Yodlee have integrated with over 21,000 data sources.

Locally, companies like Xero, PocketSmith and Booster rely on Yodlee to deliver features of their services.

Why do you store my bank login details?

Yodlee needs to store your login details so mybudgetpal can sync with your bank account every 24 hrs. This keeps your budget up to date with your most recent transactional data.

If Yodlee didn't store your details, you'd have to manually upload transactions every time you use the budgeting app - which would be a real hassle!

If you delete your bank account from the app, Yodlee will delete your login details. They don't keep them, so if you decide later you want to start using mybudgetpal again, you'll have to re-enter your bank details.

Read the full details in our privacy policy.

How does Booster handle my data and who has access to it?

For data imported into mybudgetpal, Booster and Yodlee (by way of automated bank linking) have access to various components of your transactional banking data.

Yodlee acts as the integration partner between Booster and the bank accounts you may have linked to the Booster system.

• Yodlee is the only party that has any access to the banking credentials you may have supplied when linking your automated bank accounts. These credentials are encrypted and stored in Yodlee's secure system.
• Booster and Yodlee have access to your transaction banking data.
• Yodlee does not have access to any of the other personal data you might have supplied to Booster.
• Booster and Yodlee do not sell or pass on any of this data to any other parties (unless required to by law or to provide features of the service).

Yodlee adheres to a comprehensive set of security standards and auditing. Similarly, Booster is also regularly audited and stores all of the data it uses in an on-premises data centre.

Find out more about Yodlee's security standards:

• Yodlee Security
• Yodlee FAQs to Security

What about Open Banking standards?

We're keeping a close eye on what's happening in the Open Banking space in NZ.

When the new API standards are finalised and published, we'll be looking at how to work with Yodlee to best integrate our services with these new standards.

How do I see my debt info?

1. At the bottom of the screen, tap ‘Home’.
2. On the ‘Home’ screen you’ll see the categories your total wealth is divided into.
3. Tap the ‘Debt’ icon to get to the ‘Debt’ screen.

Once on the ‘Debt’ screen, you’ll see a summary of the debts you’ve linked to the app. For each debt, you’ll see the:

• Name you’ve given the debt
• Amount you owe.

You can:

• Edit details of your debts by tapping the pencil icon
• Delete your debts from the app by tapping the bin icon.

Note: If the debt is associated with a bank account you’ve linked to the app, the pencil and bin icons will be greyed out so you can’t edit the debt here.

How do I add debt info?

1. On the ‘Debt’ screen, look at the right of the top bar for ‘Add’.
2. Tap ‘Add’ to link your debt info to the app.

On the ‘Add debt’ screen, you can choose to either:

• Use a bank account you’ve already linked to the app
• Type in the details of the debt yourself.

Use a linked bank account

Tap:

1. ‘Use linked bank account’
2. the bank account you want to use from the list of bank accounts you’ve linked to the app
3. ‘Done’ when you’ve selected it
4. ‘Save’ at the right of the top bar.

Then you’ll see the debt you’ve just added on the ‘Debt’ screen.

Note: The pencil icon is greyed out so you can’t edit the debt here. This is because it’s associated with a bank account you’ve linked to the app. If you want to edit the debt, you’ll have to delete the associated bank account. You can tap the bin icon to delete the debt.

Enter a debt by hand

Tap:

1. The ‘Name’ box to give the debt a name
2. ‘Amount’ box to enter how much you owe
3. The currency option to choose the currency of your debt
4. ‘Save’ at the right of the top bar.

Then you’ll see the debt you’ve just added on the ‘Debt’ screen.

You can tap the:

• Pencil icon to edit the debt
• Bin icon to delete the debt.

How do I see my other assets, investments and debts?

1. At the bottom of the screen, tap ‘Home’.
2. On the ‘Home’ screen, you’ll see the categories your total wealth is divided into.
3. Tap the ‘Other’ icon to get to the ‘Other’ screen.

You can:

• Edit details of your other assets, investments and debts by tapping the pencil icon
• Delete your other assets, investments and debts from the app by tapping the bin icon.

Note: The pencil and bin icons will be greyed out if the item is associated with a bank account you’ve linked to the app. This means you can’t edit or delete the item here. You can edit or delete it by editing or deleting the linked bank account.

How do I add my other assets, investments and debts?

1. On the ‘Other’ screen, look at the right of the top bar for ‘Add’.
2. Tap ‘Add’ to link info about your other assets, investments and debts to the app.

On the next screen, you’ll see some text boxes to fill in with details of the other assets, investments and debts you want to add.

Tap the:

1. ‘Name’ box to type the item’s name
2. ‘Amount’ box to enter the item’s value
3. ‘Currency’ box to choose the item’s currency
4. ‘Shares’ box to choose the item's type
5. Tap ‘Save’ at the right of the top bar.

Then you'll see the item you’ve just added on the ‘Other’ screen.

Note: The pencil and bin icons will be greyed out if the item is associated with a bank account you’ve linked to the app. This means you can’t edit or delete the item here. You can edit or delete it by editing or deleting the linked bank account.

What if my other assets, investments and debts are in foreign currencies?

Our app can handle various foreign currencies for your other assets, investments and debts.

You can enter their value in a foreign currency, but the app will convert them into NZ dollars when adding up the total value.

What is 'other'?

In this section of the Booster app, you can enter details of assets, investments and debts that the other sections don't cover.

Examples of ‘other’ are:

• Assets – a boat or car
• Investments – a valuable collection of antiques or coins
• Debts – what you owe your brother for lending you $50 when you were a bit short the other week.

Note: The pencil and bin icons will be greyed out if the item is associated with a bank account you’ve linked to the app. This means you can’t edit or delete the item here. You can edit or delete it by editing or deleting the linked bank account.

‘Oops – there’s a glitch in your bank feed!'

You need to check that everything’s ok with your online banking so the Yodlee tech can do its thing.

Check that:

• Your login details for your online banking are right
• Your online banking site is working
• You’ve completed your bank’s multi-factor authentication correctly or quickly enough.

Multi-factor authentication is an extra check, on top of your login details, that tells your bank you’re you. This extra check may be a security question, security image or security token.

Try:

• Updating your bank account login details in the Booster NZ app whenever you change them in your online banking – they must match
• Checking your online banking site is working normally
• Refreshing your bank account details in the Booster app if your bank has multi-factor authentication and then completing this step in good time.

Refreshing my feed doesn’t update my bank balances

Technical problems with your bank or Yodlee may affect your bank account balances in the Booster NZ app.

Try:

• Logging in to your online banking site to make sure it’s working
• Refreshing the feed after 20 minutes.

If your online banking site is down, you can’t refresh your feed to the Booster NZ app.

If a temporary connection error is the snag, refreshing again after 20 minutes gives it time to clear.

My online bank account and the Booster app don’t match

You can see your latest bank balances in the Booster NZ app as long as your bank completes its processes quickly.

Sometimes the balances in your online banking and the Booster app don’t match because you may see ‘pending transactions’ in your online banking. Bear in mind that the Yodlee feed from your bank account includes only transactions that your bank has finished processing.

Try:

• Refreshing your feed for the most up-to-date information
• Logging in to your online banking site to check it’s working
• Refreshing later, as you may get delays to the feed in your time zone.

Making sure my online banking and Booster app match

If your bank uses multi-factor authentication, you’ll need to refresh the data feed from your bank accounts into the Booster app.

Multi-factor authentication is an extra check, on top of your login details, that tells your bank you’re you. This extra check may be a security question, security image or security token.

So before you refresh your data feed, make sure you:

• Aren't logged in to your online banking already
• Haven't refreshed the feed within the last 20 minutes.